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From: "Richard A. Pence" <>
Subject: [APG] R. B. Preacher?
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:07:40 -0400

"Janey Joyce" <> wrote:


> D.P. Mosley is identified as a "R B Preacher" in the 1850 census of
> Greenup County, Ky.

My guess is that the "R. B." stands for Regular Baptist. They began to call
themselves Regular Baptists after the 1841 manifesto put forward by the
"Hardshell" or Primitve Baptists, whose primary attack was on the missionary
work of the church.

I hope I can state this correctly, but the Primitve Baptists believe it is
spre-ordained as to who are true membners of the church - thus spending
money for missionary work is a waste. That's a rough version of what has
been told to me.

A note for researchers: The history of many Baptist Churches are contained
in the late 1800s county histories and are called "Primitive Baptist"
churches. I have ancestors or relatives of ancestors who helped form Baptist
churches in Virginia and two Ohio counties. These churches were NOT
"Primitive" churches until much later and for certain they were not
"Primitive" churches before 1841. In one instance, it took a court case in
the 1870s to determine whether the church property was owned by the "Regular
Baptists" or the "Primitives Baptists" within the congregation. By then the
church was 70 years old.

Richard Pence
Fairfax, Virginia

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• [APG] R. B. Preacher? by "Richard A. Pence" <>